The branding rights for the World Series of Poker have been sold by Caesars Entertainment to NSUS Group, owner of GGPoker, for $500 million (around £392 million).
Caesars will be paid $250 million in cash plus a further $250 million as a ‘promissory note’ five years down the line.
And the icing on the cake for Caesars is that they have struck a deal with NSUS to continue hosting the World Series of Poker festival at their Las Vegas casinos until 2044 at the earliest.
Know When to Fold ‘Em
Caesars seem to have done pretty well out of the deal, as they will also be allowed to use the WSOP branding at their casino properties and poker rooms for the foreseeable future – as well as securing preferential rights for the hosting of World Series of Poker live circuit events.
The CEO of the NSUS Group, Michael Kim, said of the deal: “We will leverage GGPoker’s cutting-edge technology and industry expertise to create an exciting future for WSOP, ensuring players have an increasingly improved, safe, and seamless poker experience.
“Under the new leadership, NSUS intends to expand WSOP worldwide, positioning it at the forefront of poker’s growth.”
The World Series of Poker is open to players from the UK, with the tour heading to London’s Marriott Hotel in Park Lane in July and August this year as part of its International Super Circuit.
A number of tournaments are to be played as part of the series, with four different main events – each boasting a guaranteed prize pool of £3 million.
Online players can also access WSOP Europe events, with an annual calendar of tournaments boasting prize pools into the millions.
It’s not thought that the switch to the new ownership team will impact WSOP players in the UK, or their access to the poker lobby, in any way.
Global expansion has long been on minds of WSOP chiefs, with forays into Europe and Asia followed in 2023 by the development of the WSOP Paradise series, which took players to the Bahamas.
World Leading
The World Series of Poker remains undefeated as one of the most recognisable gambling brands around the globe, with casual and professional poker players hoping to qualify for WSOP events and battle it out for the big bucks.
The World Series of Poker is the oldest set of poker tournaments on the planet, first hosted in 1970 when Benny Binion – a bootlegger known for shooting his moonshining rivals – moved to Las Vegas and invited seven of the most notorious poker players of the day to take each other on, heads up, at his Horseshoe Casino.
It was hosted every year thereafter, with ownership rights retained by Benny’s Horseshoe up until 2004 – some 15 years after his death. Harrah’s Entertainment acquired the rights to the WSOP brand and confirmed that the flagship main event would be moving to its Rio Hotel and Casino.
Harrah’s acquired the rights to Caesars in a landmark $9.4 billion (£7.3 billion) deal back in 2004, which itself was then taken over by Eldorado Resorts in 2020 in an agreement worth around £13 billion.
They decided to give Caesars the branding rights to the World Series of Poker, with the Main Event of the WSOP since returning to the Horseshoe Casino – now owned by Caesars – in 2023.
Those entering aim to win their share of huge cash prizes – some $438 million (£343 million) was up for grabs at the 2024 edition, which is an all-time record – as well as the famous WSOP bracelets. Nearly 230,000 players made the trip out to Las Vegas for the Main Event series this year.
Armed Security for $10M poker winner walking through the casino – 2024 WSOP Main Event bracelet winner Jonathan Tamayo @driverseati @WSOP #wsop #poker #gambling #casino pic.twitter.com/HtQUBD3Qeh
— Papa Poker (@papapok3r) July 18, 2024
The winner of the 2024 Main Event was Jonathan Tamayo, who outlasted a field of 10,000 players to land the $10 million (£7.8 million) top prize – despite having a poor 8-3 off-suit hand in what would prove to be the final round. He would fortunately flop two-pair to secure the unlikeliest of victories.
It seems likely that GGPoker, one of the premier online poker providers, will take over the online running of the WSOP. They have a huge player base already – including a dedicated UK presence, and in 2020 stepped into the breach to help the World Series of Poker’s Main Event go ahead; during the pandemic, it became impossible to host the tournament in person.
In 2024, more opportunities were given to GGPoker players than ever before to qualify for the World Series – in the end, more than 1,000 customers booked their spot at the Horseshoe Casino.